The present invention is directed to extremely thin multi-layer films and their use with laminates. Such materials have a wide variety of uses, especially in the areas of limited use and disposable items.
Many products today require highly engineered components and yet, at the same time, these products are required to be limited use or disposable items. By limited use or disposable, it is meant that the product and/or component is used only a small number of times or possibly only once before being discarded. Examples of such products include, but are not limited to, surgical and health care related products such as surgical drapes and gowns, disposable work wear such as coveralls and lab coats and a personal care absorbent products such as diapers, training pants, incontinence garments, sanitary napkins, bandages, wipes and the like. All of these products can and do utilize as components, films and fibrous nonwoven webs. While both materials are often used interchangeably, films tend to have greater barrier properties, especially to liquids while fibrous nonwovens webs have, among other things, better tactile, comfort and aesthetic properties. When these materials are used in limited use and/or disposable products, the impetus for maximizing engineered properties while reducing cost is extremely high. To this end, it is often desirable to use either a film or a nonwoven to achieve the desired results because the combination often becomes more expensive. In the area of films, there have been previous attempts to make multi-layer films with reduced thicknesses. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,899 to Vischer wherein a three layer film is made with a central layer that comprises from about 30 to 70% of the total thickness of the multi-layer film. One advantage in forming multi-layer films is that specific properties can be designed into the film, and, by making the films multi-layer the more costly ingredients can be relegated to the outer layers where they are most likely to be needed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multilayer film which can be engineered to provide specific properties while providing such properties in a very thin gauge. Another object of the present invention is to combine such low gauge films with other support layers such as layers of fibrous nonwoven webs to increase strength and provide aesthetic properties. The means by which such objectives are achieved can be more fully comprehended by a review of the following specification, drawings and claims.